It was often mandatory for plague workers to carry a white or red rod as a warning sign. The rods could also be used for handling sheets and clothes.
Below: priest, doctor and surgeon with rods. R. Constant 1636, Musée Lorrain, Nancy.
#plague #blackdeath #histmed #socialdistancing #artoftheplague

Oh and btw, the outfit was probably extremely rare, I've only found one source that tells us a doctor was wearing it in France, but it didn't quite look like the one we all know and many of the contemporary depictions were likely just made up:

brill.com/view/journal...

The Raven and the Plague: Iconology of Paulus Fürst’s Doctor Schnabel, by Herbert J. Mattie in Nuncius brill.com/view/journal...

The Plague Museum wishes everybody a Merry Christmas

History, Health and Humorism
#histmed